We're working on an exciting feature for Mother's Day paying tribute to Moms from all walks of life. We're collecting your thoughts on being a working mom, quitting work to be a mom, or going back to work after spending a few months, years, or decades as a stay-at-home mom. Please share your thoughts in the comments, and we'll be compiling them (along with submissions collected via e-mail, Facebook, and through personal interviews.
A few questions to get you started:
1) What job(s) did you have before your kid(s) were born that they would be surprised to know about?
2) How did becoming a parent change the way you think about work and your career?
3) Whether you had a stay-at-home mom or one who worked outside the home, what did you learn from your mother that influenced your career path? (All are welcome to answer this one!)
A few questions to get you started:
1) What job(s) did you have before your kid(s) were born that they would be surprised to know about?
2) How did becoming a parent change the way you think about work and your career?
3) Whether you had a stay-at-home mom or one who worked outside the home, what did you learn from your mother that influenced your career path? (All are welcome to answer this one!)
2 comments:
1) Ballroom dance instructor, blackjack dealer.
2) It forced me to re-evaluate what I really wanted out of my career, and I discovered that, when it came right down to it, I just wanted to write. So after grad school, I became a WAHM and a freelancer, and my career is growing up right along with my kids. They give me a lot of my material, too!
3) My mom's example taught me that whether you work outside the home or stay home with your kids (as she did), it's important to do something besides be in "mommy mode" all day. Even though she didn't have a paid job, she did volunteer work and was involved in the church, and I got to see her interacting with other adults and using her mind and her skills in creative ways. Now, as a parent myself, being self-employed gives me a way to have the flexibility to enjoy my kids while they're small, but gives me an outlet for my grown-up interests, too.
Hmm. This is a loaded one, for me, coming from a trad-gender-reversed household with not only Mom working 70-80hr weeks outside the home, but Dad being the stay-at-home-mom. But I think one of the things that's made the biggest impact on me is what my mom compromised on in order to balance her professional career with being a mom: music. She basically didn't play (flute) the whole time I was growing up, she'd pull it out maybe once or twice a year with one particular friend who was also a flute player. She said when we were little, when she got home from work in the evening she had to choose between practicing and spending time with us, and time with the kids won every time. When my younger brother hit high school, she started making time for it again, and it has been SUCH a treat over the last 12 years or so to see her embrace that part of herself (and I am in awe of her discipline about practicing now, too). It's definitely something I think a lot about as I try to balance my own career, family, and music/art.
In my own life, I'm finding that compromise - a word with lots of ugly connotations - can be a beautiful thing. Because my daughter will be a senior in high school next year, even though I'm graduating from grad school this year, we won't be moving for my career until after she's done with high school. It just didn't seem fair to a girl who's already been to 3 high schools and juggled 5 parents (and done so with a lot of grace and maturity). And what I'm finding is that being constrained to look for local jobs is widening my career outlook in really delightful ways that I could not have imagined.
Post a Comment